Thanksgiving Comes First

Last year Jim over at Suldog wrote about how Thanksgiving comes first and how any retailer who starts ramming C-mas down our throats before Thanksgiving ought to be boycotted.

I wholeheartedly agree. If I could agree more than wholeheartedly I would. Wholebodily? Yeah, wholebodily.

Why does this bother me so much, especially as I am not even a Christian? Well technically I am, but uh, that's a technicality. I was baptized in the church and at that time the only protest options available were to pee on the reverend, or to cry at the top of my lungs. I probably did both.

I hate it because it's a brazen push for retailers to squeeze yet more money out of a mostly financially strapped country - shoddily dressing it up in a cheap veneer of goodwill toward all. I hate it because it's a false hustle, trying to rush people through life. Life is so short as it is, what on earth are we racing to the finish for? The finish line is death! Boo!

I want to be here today, for every hour of it. I am grateful for my tomorrows no matter how crappy my today is. One day, followed by the next, not skipping through the days, leapfrogging from one holiday to the next, as if individual days are of no importance.

I look forward to Thanksgiving because it's a marker, tangible proof that we are together as a family, that we have our health, and a bountiful table. Our wants are few, our needs are met. Our lives are very, very, good. I know this is true daily, but it's nice to celebrate that once a year, like a birthday. But I am still glad for Tuesdays, and Sundays, and all the other days of the year.

Lately I've noticed a couple of C-mas ads on the teeeeeeeeeev. Notably:

- Walmart
- KMart (it's possible I am thinking of Walmart...)
- Hallmark Shops
- Blue Man Group

And those retailers are going on the boycott list. Also on the list is anyone who promotes gift giving at Thanksgiving.

Because THANKSGIVING COMES FIRST!